Paris Mayo: Teen mother jailed for at least 12 years after murdering newborn son
A teenage mother has been sentenced to at least 12 years in prison after being found guilty of murdering her newborn son at her parents’ home.
Warning: The following article contains details of a graphic nature
Paris Mayo, now 19, was convicted last week over the death of her baby Stanley in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, in 2019. She was 15 at the time.
Passing sentence, judge Mr Justice Garnham said Mayo decided that Stanley “could not live” as soon as he was born.
“You assaulted him about the head,” the judge told her. “How you did this is not clear, but I suspect you crushed his head, probably beneath your foot.
“It certainly caused him serious damage, but that assault did not kill Stanley.
“He remained alive. You decided you had to finish Stanley off by stuffing cotton wool balls into his throat.
“As difficult as your circumstances may have been, killing your baby son was a truly dreadful thing to do.”
Stanley was born full-term and is said to have lived for at least two hours.
Mayo cried as she was led back to the cells.
Paris Mayo arriving at Worcester Crown Court
Mayo’s defence lawyer, Bernard Richmond KC, said Mayo was a “pathetic and vulnerable individual” who was “immature” and had not been supported by those around her.
On the night she gave birth, Mayo’s father Patrick, who Mr Richmond said could be “emotionally cruel”, was having home dialysis in an upstairs room, assisted by her mother. Patrick Mayo died 10 days after Stanley was born.
Before the judge passed his sentence, Mr Richmond said: “When faced with a decision she had to make, she did not face up to it. By the time she had to, the decision she made was woefully, woefully wrong.
“This was a 15-year-old girl who was vulnerable and used by people around her and wasn’t supported.”
The judge told Mayo she was clearly “frightened and traumatised” by the birth, adding: “I have no doubt it was painful and overwhelming for you. It seems you did not cry out, so anxious were you not to disturb your parents upstairs.”
Jonas Hankin KC for the prosecution argued that the killing of baby Stanley was premeditated. “Paris Mayo clearly intended to prevent the discovery of the pregnancy or the existence of the baby,” he said.
“A decision was made to eschew help from her mother, father, or the emergency services and kill her baby.”
Paris Mayo (left) cried as she was led back to the cells
Worcester Crown Court heard Mayo gave birth to Stanley alone in a living room.
After delivering her baby, weighing 7lb 12oz, the prosecution said the teenager assaulted Stanley.
The Crown Prosecution Service said the infant suffered a fractured skull, possibly caused by Mayo’s foot on his head, before she stuffed cotton wool into his mouth – two pieces of which were found deep in his throat.
She then dumped his body in a binbag and left it on the front doorstep before going to bed.
Her mother found the lifeless infant the following morning after looking inside the blood-stained bag and alerted the police.
Read more:
Teenager accused of baby’s murder spoke of ‘hate’ for newborn cry, court hears
Teen mother found guilty of murdering newborn son at her parents’ home
Mayo is said to have tried to cover up both her pregnancy and the birth – claiming she was unaware she was expecting.
She had earlier denied causing Stanley’s complex skull fractures, claiming her son had the umbilical cord around his neck, hit his head on the floor during labour, and was already dead when he was born.
When Mayo and Stanley were taken to Hereford County Hospital, the teenager was asked why she had not told her mother what had happened.
“She’s got a lot going on with dad,” she is said to have replied.
A workman saved a seven-year-old boy from a burning car in the aftermath of a deadly crash caused by a suicidal ex-pilot, an inquest has heard.
The schoolboy’s rescue came following the collision on the M6, which killed former RAF man Richard Woods and four others, in October last year.
Last week a coroner ruled that Woods, 40, took his own life by deliberately driving his Skoda the wrong way down the motorway while drunk and hitting a Toyota Yaris head-on.
The driver of the Toyota, Jaroslaw Rossa, 42, was also killed, along with his two sons, Filip, 15, and Dominic, seven, and his partner Jade McEnroe, 33.
Cockermouth Coroner’s Court heard on Thursday that Ms McEnroe’s son was also in the car but survived after workman Gavin Walsh came to his rescue at the scene, which was near Tebay services in Cumbria.
In a statement to the inquest, Mr Walsh said he was a passenger in a transit van travelling to Scotland when he witnessed the crash.
He jumped out of the vehicle and used a jack to smash the rear windscreen of the Toyota and pulled the boy out of the burning vehicle.
Mr Walsh said: “We really did try, I can assure everyone we did our best. We only had minimal time.
“I saved a life that day and I hope never to witness anything like that again.”
He added that he has never stopped thinking about the boy, and said: “I hope we will meet again one day and I will give you a massive hug.”
At the time, the family were returning to Glasgow from a trip to Legoland in Windsor, Berkshire.
The inquest heard that Wood, who was travelling at a speed of at least 65mph, would have been charged with manslaughter had he survived.
Recording conclusions of unlawful killing, Cumbria assistant coroner Margaret Taylor said: “I found that Jaroslaw, Jade, Filip and Dominic died as a consequence of the unlawful acts of another driver.”
The inquest heard how Mr Woods, from Cambridgeshire, had served a distinguished 14-year career in the RAF and was a flight instructor for BAE Systems at the time of his death.
Jade McEnroe. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Dominic and Filip. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
In Ms Taylor’s record of inquest, Mr Woods was said to have been experiencing “a number of stressors in his life” and had a “history of harmful use of alcohol”.
Following the crash, he was found to be nearly four times over the legal drink-drive limit and a two-thirds empty bottle of gin was found in his car.
On the day of his death, concerns had been raised over his behaviour at a work conference near Preston in Lancashire.
Mr Woods failed to return to his seat after lunch and was later spotted driving erratically and swerving across three northbound carriageway lanes on the M6.
After pulling onto the hard shoulder, he then proceeded to U-turn and drove southward on lane three.
Filip, Dominic and Jaroslaw Rossa. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Detective Sergeant Deborah Story, from Cumbria Police, told the inquest that Mr Woods would have been prosecuted on four counts of manslaughter had he lived.
She said hypothetical charges of murder were considered by detectives but not thought appropriate because of a lack of information that Mr Woods knew the family or anything that provided a link between them.
Ms McEnroe’s parents, Marie McEnroe and George McNellis, told the coroner they thought it was “murder”.
Read more from Sky News:
Luton Airport expansion approved
Prince Harry responds to charity row
Appeal launched to help earthquake victims
A statement from the mother of Filip and Dominic, and the ex-wife of Mr Rossa, Kamila, was read out at the inquest.
She said Mr Rossa, known as Jarek, was born in Poland where they became a couple and went on to have three boys.
He loved playing computer games and had “lots of friends”, she said, and worked at the Wagamama restaurant in Silverburn, Glasgow.
She said she was “devastated” over the deaths, adding: “Our lives will never be the same.
“I am heartbroken at the passing of my beloved angels Filip and Dominic.”
Marie McEnroe said her daughter, a spa therapist, had been in a relationship with Mr Rossa for about two-and-a-half years.
She said Jade had been a “brilliant mother” to her only child, was “really happy” with Mr Rossa and it was “lovely chaos” when all the boys were playing together.
Ms McEnroe added: “Life changed forever that day”.
Ms Taylor praised the “selfless acts of bravery” from those in the aftermath of the collision, including Mr Walsh, who she said went towards the burning car “without hesitation for his own safety”.
The coroner added: “Without his swift response, Jade’s child would also have perished.”
Addressing the bereaved family members, she said: “Your loss is unimaginable but you have conducted yourself with dignity and I thank you for that. I wish you strength for the future.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports12 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway